Arts ALIVE: 3rd Annual An Art & Rural Garden Adventure

3rd Annual Arts Alive! An Art & Rural Garden Adventure
Saturday May 16, 2026 from 10:00AM-5:00PM
5 Garden Locations featuring 20 local artists

The Southern Oregon Guild of Artists and Artisans presents the 3rd Annual Arts Alive! An Art & Rural Garden Adventure on Saturday May 16, 2026 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Ticket holders will enjoy a variety of art and fine crafts displayed in the unique settings of five picturesque gardens in the Illinois Valley. Set amidst the background of surrounding forested and snow-topped mountains, the gardens will showcase sculpture, paintings, photography, prints, cards, fiber and fabric arts, glass arts, woodwork, jewelry, and more.

The different sites display a range of botanical beauty from brilliant spring blooms to a family-run garden center to creative kitchen gardens. You’ll see rare native plants and old-growth trees. The fifth "garden" for 2026 is Rough & Ready Botanical Wayside! This unique botanical area along Rough and Ready Creek includes a 0.7 mile ADA accessible flat trail that harbors a multitude of rare or special-status plants endemic to the serpentine soils of the Siskiyou Mountains. This popular wildflower-watching spot is an Area of Critical Environmental Concern, first protected by the Illinois Valley Garden Club in 1937.

Each garden setting will have different activities throughout the day -- some for children, some for adults. Try your hand at lawn games such as croquet or badminton, sip a hand-crafted brandy at Marble Caves Distillery! Watch as art comes ALIVE during ongoing skills demonstrations to include musical performances, storytelling, live painting, woodcarving, poetry reading, woodturning, and more. Participating groups and artists include: Ryan Hopper, Elaine Barker, Miri Admoni, Alan Eisner, Julia Waters, Deb Murphy, Faith Witham, Mark Bair, Bonnie Campanoli, Jim Lettis, Janet Downingstar, Mary Ann Clady, Charles & Georgia Churchill, Steve & Gail Heagerty, Danji Beard, Caryne Mount, Joshua Beach, Allison & Phil of Forest Symbols, and the Illinois Valley Garden Club. All artists and some gardeners will have work available for purchase.

Adult event tickets are $20 each, $10 for teens ages 13-18, and youth ages 12 and under are free. Tickets provide full self-guided tour access to all garden locations and discounts at participating Cave Junction businesses. Throughout the day, the Guild Gallery & Art Center, located in the historic Kerby Belt Building in Kerby, will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm as an informational hub for visitors, providing tour programs with maps and wristbands. If not already purchased, tickets will be available, and volunteers will be on hand to answer questions. Once you receive your wristband & printed program, you're free to navigate the tour at your leisure, stopping at any and all participating businesses for discounts (see below). Carpooling is encouraged, but not necessary.

Tickets can be purchased online via http://www.SouthernOregonGuild.org or in person between 11am-5pm Tuesday-Saturday at the Guild Gallery & Art Center located at 24353 Redwood Hwy. Kerby, Oregon 97531, 26 miles SW of Grants Pass on the Redwood Highway 199. Questions? Call (541)-592-5019 or email guild@southernoregonguild.org.